Gastrointestinal distress for the purposes of the present invention is defined as discomfort associated with an intestinal disorder characterized by symptoms of diarrhea and flatulence or gas. Diarrhea is the abnormally frequent passage of watery stool.
Diarrhea may have a variety of causes including bacteria or vital induced diarrhea. Travelers diarrhea, for example, is also believed to be of microbial origin. Diarrhea may also be a side effect of drug administration, particularly antibiotics. Diarrhea may be induced by food intolerance which is caused by allergy or the ingestion of foods that are excessively fatty, spicy, or contain a high degree of fermentable carbohydrate, roughage or a large number of seeds. Food intolerance may also be brought on by a preformed toxin in the food thus causing food poisoning. Other conditions and diseases can also cause diarrhea, and diarrhea may only be one of many symptoms associated with a major illness.
Diarrhea is thus a symptom of an intestinal disorder or other bodily function and symptomatic relief can be accomplished by the use of various prescription and nonprescription products. The active ingredients in these products include loperamide, attapulgite, bismuth subsalicylate, diphenoxylate HCl, polycarbophil, calcium polycarbophil and mixtures thereof.
Flatulence or intestinal gas is another intestinal disorder which contributes to gastrointestinal distress. Such gas exists as trapped gas bubbles which manifest feelings of pain, bloating and cramping in the abdominal area. It has been surprisingly found in a study of people complaining of diarrhea that about 67% of the population study also complained of accompanying gas.
While various products exist for separately treating diarrhea and gas, no product has heretofore been proposed for treating the combination of the symptoms of both diarrhea and gas which has been defined herein as gastrointestinal distress. It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a composition for the treatment of gastrointestinal distress in response to a long felt need which has now been recognized by the above-mentioned study.